How I Travel: Brittany O’Grady Doesn’t Do Bougie

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If your only mental image of Brittany O’Grady is from The White Lotus, when she played an ultra blasé Gen Z college student in the first season, talking to the deeply cautious, highly methodical actress is a pleasant shock. “I like to be pretty early. I’ll have [our ride] planned the night before, and we’ll just sit there, maybe have breakfast, until it’s time to get on the plane,” O’Grady says of her airport routine. She’s also a big fan of plotting out a vacation over Google Docs, as she explained to Condé Nast Traveler. “Organization is my biggest key when it comes to traveling.”

O’Grady’s latest character is an office expert denizen opposite Christoph Waltz in the creepy new Prime Video series The Consultant, which is streaming today. Ahead of the show, she chatted about her recent honeymoon, tourist recommendations in her home city, and how she handles the anxiety of frequently flying with her Cavalier King Charles spaniel, Lady. 

The best vacation she’s ever taken:

I went on my honeymoon in September, and it was so much fun. We had a layover in Paris and then went to Greece—like every other honeymooning couple in 2022. Very, very original of us, but we had never been before. We extended our layover to three days in Paris, a city which really shocked us. We met such great people and felt a lot of warmth there that we weren’t expecting to feel. Then we went to two islands, [Santorini and Paros] in Greece, which were obviously beautiful. Our Airbnb hosts were incredible, and we had really good food. It wasn’t, like, a bougie honeymoon. It was like all the trips we did in college, just immersing ourselves in the space. 

Her go-to plane outfit:

I try to be super comfortable. I'm a layers girl, so I'll either have a tank top or a thin long sleeved shirt, then a sweater. I do sneakers or Uggs, something super comfortable, or else I’ll wear my heaviest shoe so it doesn't make my bag weigh more.

Her tips for traveling with a dog:

My dog, Lady, is a big traveler. Seventy percent of the travel that we do, she is with us. But it is really stressful! There's so much that is out of our control when it comes to the airport. Those [designated] bathroom stations are just so germ-y and gross for dogs. And sometimes she gets a little sick after flying—I think it upsets her stomach—so we try to make sure that she gets exercise before we go, and run her around. We have a doggy water bottle with her, so she stays hydrated throughout the flight. She's on the smaller side, so I've never put her under [in the hold], and we'll have little treats just to keep her occupied. I don't know if I should say this but… I crack the crate open a little bit for her, if it's just me and my husband in the row. I’ll have just a little flap open. 

But also, the easiest thing is through Delta: We text the Delta assistant and have her crate [dimensions] memorized. Usually I think dogs fit better in the middle aisle. I just make sure that she is on the flight. Her reservation is settled a week in advance, so there's no hiccups there. And that's my brain!

How she plots her travel:

The past decade of my life I've spent traveling with my husband; we started dating in college. What I love to do is make an itinerary on Google Docs. It's really fun for me. I'll start researching, looking at blogs, YouTube channels. I think you get people's unfiltered thoughts on YouTube. I don't have a TikTok, but I'll look on Instagram to see where people are as well. [Then I] make plans: book tours, find hotels, or research places that are less touristy. Usually I like to do Airbnb. That's a lot of fun, because it makes my husband and I feel like we're locals. 

Her first memory of riding in business or first class:

When I was a child, my dad traveled on business all the time, and my sister and I somehow got upgraded. My first thought was, “This is boring,” because there was just a bunch of serious men in suits. I felt like I couldn't be a kid; it was like being in an office. And I remember the seats were big and my feet couldn't touch the ground. 

My first time as an adult, it was with work and it was just super cool because you got free drinks and food! Normally I’m flying with co-stars, so we just get to be with one another, chatting and watching movies. The flight attendants are always so nice in first class.

A place she thinks is underrated:

There's so many beautiful parts of New Mexico. It’s magical. I lived in Albuquerque working on a show for a couple of months when I was 18, and [after filming] my husband and I did a cross-country trip with a camper trailer, camping in Santa Fe and Albuquerque. You can take that gondola up to the mountains, and the energy is palpable.

Her recommendations for folks visiting her hometown of Washington, D.C.:

Oh my gosh, I love home. I love the D.C. area so much. It has really good food because there's so many cultures there. Visit different restaurants around the area for authentic cuisines from all over the world, in Arlington and Fairfax-Falls Church. I don't know if I'm going to be made fun of for saying that the metro is fun, but it is just so convenient! Public transportation is one of the best ways to immerse yourself in a city. And it's clean. D.C.’s a very clean city! Cherry blossoms—that’s standard, but really beautiful. The museums are awesome, obviously. You can stumble upon so much. But the food is a really big thing.

I have a friend named Alexa Moore with a travel blog, and she's also from the DMV [D.C.-Maryland-Virginia] area. She's been to over 50 countries, and she has tips about the D.C. area along with traveling to all these other places. She gives budget tips. She's my go-to person. We grew up dancing together, and she’s smart, talented, and really cool.

Where she’s hoping to go next:

I've been to Central America, but I’d like to go to South America. I'm also interested in going to the Nordic area and doing a cool vacation there. And I definitely want to go to Africa: to Ghana and the Ivory Coast. That's my ten-year bucket list!